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(Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Winners were electronically selected from those who registered online for the campaign and will be rewarded with sports bicycles.

The Environment Department of the Dubai Municipality (DM) has announced the names of the winners of the Car Free Day 2014. The civic body had announced that it would reward 100 sports bicycles to those who would ditch their cars and pledge using any means of public transport on February 19 to help reduce the carbon emission caused by cars.

Winners were electronically selected from those who registered online for the campaign and will be rewarded with sports bicycles from leading sports brand GIANT Rincon Disc Mountain Bike 201.

Total 100 winners from the Dubai Municipality and other participating departments received a congratulatory email notification or direct call from the environment awareness section, the civic body said in a media statement. The winners will get a coupon from the Environment Awareness Section of DM or their departments to collect bicycles from the Municipality Club located in Garhoud.

"We are distributing this valuable prize to the individual participants of Car Free Day 2014 who registered online responding to DM's call for supporting Dubai's benchmark green drive that is aimed at creating an eco-friendly lifestyle among the residents of Dubai in line with the vision of DM," said Alya Abdulrahim Abdulla Amin Alharmoudi, acting director of the Environment Department.

She congratulated the winners and hoped to see an even better response in future to the Car Free Day initiative by the help of its volunteering ambassadors to help the civic body create one of the most sustainable cities in the world, as declared by the Director-General of the municipality Hussain Nasser Lootah.

Sara Ibrahim Al Sayegh, head of environmental awareness section, said: "We want to promote a healthy lifestyle and the use of bikes on roads and the Dubai government is planning to make dedicated cycling tracks within its upcoming road expansion plans ahead of Expo2020."
"It is our responsibility to respect walkers and bikers on the road and show our responsibility towards saving the environment for the generations to come, understanding that they are the real heroes who sacrifice their convenience for a better future," she said.

She also thanked all participants, sponsors and supporters for making the event a grand success and a globally appreciated green drive.

Green souvenirs
Meanwhile, some private companies also encouraged their employees to take part in the Car Free Day initiative by gifting them green souvenirs.

Thuraya Telecommunications company in Tecom motivated its employees to contribute in the reduction of carbon emission and spread awareness about global warming by voluntarily taking part in the municipality's campaign. The company chose three winners among its employees who ditched their cars for a day to work and gifted them with eco-friendly paper bags as a token of appreciation for their contribution to make the world a better place.